The University of Washington has published a case study looking at how the Digital Community Programme is addressing the issue of long-term unemployment in Dublin's inner-city.
The programme focusing on the provision of IT access and training to people living in the inner city flat complexes and provides training and support from basic digital literacy to full industry certification such as IC3 and Microsoft Office Specialist.
 | "The Digital Community project offers two types of education programs. First, the broad portfolio of ICT courses and network of public access points serve many inner city residents, providing basic access and strengthening life skills and job skills. Roughly 2,000 are served each year either as drop-in users or formal trainees at the 23 centers across Dublin. Second, students that demonstrate a commitment to the program over time become eligible for intensive job training that involves advanced ICT training, then teacher training, and culminates in a well-paid on-the-job ICT apprenticeship – funded by the project. Roughly one hundred graduates have followed this track all the way to the apprenticeship. The apprenticeship is intended to provide employment and to establish a proven track record in a work environment. According to Peter Byrne, the project director, the on-the-job training program is built around the widely recognized axiom among job hunters: “it is easier to find a job when you already have a job.” The simplicity of Peter’s approach is intended to provide strategic handholds that give trainees a legitimate chance to climb out of generational unemployment and poverty, and the crime and violence that are never far behind." |
You can download the full case study here.
The Digital Community Programme is supported by Microsoft's Unlimited Potential programme.
There's an interesting case study online (PDF) about how Laurencetown, Lenaderg, and Tullyish Community Association in Northern Ireland was able to kick-start a youth programme in the local community centre using Microsoft Office and Microsoft Encarta through the technology donations programme.
The technology donations programme offers all qualifying non-profit organisations access to Microsoft products and is now available Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
You can find out more about the Northern Ireland programme here, and the Republic of Ireland programme here.
I mentioned PC Live's new podcasts previously - well now you can listen and link to each individual episode at their new podcast blog.
Also PC Live editor, Niall Kitson is now blogging.
The AcidRain team have published a short video of their eventful trip to Paris!
Did you know TechCentral has a podcast?
You can check out the latest installment with DJ Dusty Rhodes, PC Live Editor Niall Kitson and our own Martha Rotter.
It also plays directly off the main TechCentral home page.
If you're heading to Oxegen this weekend, make sure you check out the Xbox LIVE Stage, which is making its first appearance in Europe at the event.
Boasting a massive 46 sq m, high-quality LED cinema screen, the Xbox LIVE Stage will become a focal point for festival-goers as it will feature live performances and VJ sets from the likes of MTV’s Eclectic Method.
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The Big Screen will give fans the chance to test their competitive edge with some great games including arcade classics like Sonic the Hedgehog, Pacman, Sensible Soccer and the movie quiz, Scene It. The Xbox LIVE Stage will kick off proceedings at 12 noon on Thursday, and run from 10am each day of the festival until late. Set in an natural amphitheatre, the stage is the ideal place to kick back and relax for a bit.
If that wasn't enough, Xbox 360 will also take to the main stage at OXEGEN this year with EA Game's massively popular Rock Karaoke game 'Rock Band'. Offering festival-goers the chance to pick the songs to sing along to and rock the world, this is festival fun at its finest. With a massive range of artists, bands and tracks to choose from; including Guns n’ Roses, The Police, Radiohead and The Clash, this is your chance to show the world your rock god credentials.
Pictured: Sarah Jane Wai O'Flynn of the Dirty Epics, who are performing at Oxegen at the announcement of the Xbox Live stage.
More information on the festival is available at: http://www.oxegen.ie/2008/
It appears that Team AcidRain's achievement at the 2008 Imagine Cup Finals in Paris has caught the imagination. The team, which hails from NUI Maynooth, has created a means of enabling diesel engines to use vegetable oil. They finished second in the embedded technology competition at the Imagine Cup.
Here's just a selection of the reactions and stories so far:
Well done again to Aodhan, Brian and Karl!
Microsoft is today launching a new online resources for nonprofit organisations.
NGO Connection provides a single portal for technology resources, knowledge sharing, community building and real-life examples of how nonprofit organizations are using technology.
NGO Connection makes it easy for nonprofits to access the complete range of Microsoft resources and offerings, from technology donations to support, advice and training.
NGO Connection also makes it easy for NGOs to share best practices and case studies, giving them the option of participating in an online forum where they can engage in dialogues about using technology effectively and share solutions to some of their common challenges. The goal is to help NGOs make the connection between their needs and how to solve them with technology.
NGO Connection is available at:
http://www.microsoft.com/NGO.
Microsoft Ireland's Community Affairs site is at:
http://www.microsoft.com/ireland/community/
Earlier today, Team AcidRain from NUI Maynooth came second in the Embedded Development competition at the Imagine Cup 2008, a worldwide competition that allows students to unlock their creative genius and create technology solutions that can help address some of the world’s toughest social challenges.
It’s an incredible achievement for the team with over 200,000 students from 100 countries entering this year’s Imagine Cup.
Team AcidRain, comprised of NUI Maynooth students, Brian Byrne, Aodhan Coffey and Karl O’Dwyer, have built an optimised, embedded conversion kit which offers a novel solution to the problem of reducing carbon emissions through enabling vegetable oil powered engines. They have created a “one size fits all” kit which will convert any diesel engine to run on any vegetable oil whether it be olive oil, rapeseed oil or sunflower oil. They actually drove to the finals in Paris in a diesel car that was fueled with sunflower oil using their own project.
A total of 370 students from 124 teams representing 61 countries and regions have been participating since Thursday in the Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals in nine categories. The student teams were asked to undertake a series of challenges relating to technology and digital media depending on the invitational. In the software design category, the students were asked to create a software solution to address this year’s environmental theme, “Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment.”
SligoIT was also represented at the Imagine Cup finals. Team ParkIT, built an application which enables the provision of real time parking information. Using cameras and software, it monitors car park spaces and can determine when a space vacant. This information would then be sent to a central database, which would be used to drive a real time parking information system that provides users with available parking data near their location on request. They won the second national Irish Imagine Cup competition.
For more information on the Imagine Cup:
Emmet has also posted a video report on Sligo IT's ParkIT team at the Imagine Cup finals in Paris.
You can read the full report here.
Emmet Ryan from ENN is at the Imagine Cup Finals, here's his video report on the progress of NUI Maynooth team AcidRain to the final of the Embedded Development category.
You can read his full report here.
Also Karlin Lillington has a post from Paris.
Well the 2008 World Imagine Cup Finals are well underway in Paris.
Great news for the NUI Maynooth AcidRain team, they have made the finals of the embedded development competition.
They will be competing in the final with teams from China, Korea, Poland, Singapore and Ukraine.
Each team will present its solution tomorrow to a group of judges for final consideration. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, July 8, as part of the gala closing ceremonies.
You can follow their progress on their blog here.
Unfortunately the SligoIT team didn't make the final, in what is an incredibly competitive category, however they've done incredibly well in Paris and can be very proud of their project and their performance.
Karlin is at the event in Paris and blogging!
We'll keep you updated on AcidRain's progress through the rest of the competition.
Microsoft has released Windows SteadyState 2.5.
SteadyState is a free application that enables you to protect your PC and its contents from accidental or intentional harm.
It has been primarily designed for public access computers, for example in a library, Internet café, school or training centre. However it can able enable you to set up your Home PC, safe in the knowledge that the kids can't access or delete important files, accidentally remove programmes or change configurations.
Effectively it creates a space where the guest user can access the computer but can only access files and applications that you allow. In addition you can simply roll back any changes they do make ensuring the safety of your PC.
You can find out more about how SteadyState works in a variety of locations:
It's available as a free download.
Last May I wrote a post about the rising levels of spam and phishing e-mails arriving into people's inboxes.
Many of these purport to be from Microsoft.
Since I published that post it appears that the volume of these e-mails continues to rise.
If you receive a suspicious e-mail, please read my previous post.
If you've any questions please contact me.
The most popular phishing e-mail currently making the rounds is:
This e-mail does NOT come from Microsoft and you should NOT reply or send any details.
We do report these e-mails to the relevant authorities.
The AcidRain team from NUI Maynooth, who are one of two Irish teams competing in the global Imagine Cup finals in Paris later this week, departed for the finals driving a car which uses their new application which enables Diesel cars to use vegatable oil.
The team from NUI Maynooth, along with a team from Sligo IT will represent Ireland at Microsoft’s Imagine Cup 2008 World Final. Worldwide this year saw the highest ever number of students entering the Imagine Cup, with over 200,000 entrants from over 100 countries around the globe. The Imagine Cup, which is now in its sixth year, challenges students around the globe to ‘Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment’.
About Team AcidRain
Team AcidRain from NUI Maynooth have built an optimized, embedded conversion kit which offers a novel solution to the problem of reducing carbon emissions through enabling plant oil powered engines. They have set out to create a “one size fits all” kit. This embedded solution will convert any diesel engine to run on any plant oil whether it be olive oil, rapeseed oil or sunflower oil to name but a few! There challenge starts today as they take the ferry with their diesel free car to Holyhead and continue their journey to Paris from there.
About Team ParkIT
Sligo IT students, ParkIT, are proposing an application which enables the provision of real time parking information. Using cameras and software, it monitors car park spaces and can determine when a space vacant. This information would then be sent to a central database, which would be used to drive a real time parking information system that provides users with available parking data near their location on request.
Acidrain and ParkIT will now compete with students and projects from around the world at the final in France. The overall prizes include a chance to Silicon Valley to take part in the Imagine Cup Innovation Accelerator. It propels Imagine Cup software design champions into the next stage of developing their innovative ideas as a business.
The Microsoft Imagine Cup 2008 Gold sponsors are Enterprise Ireland and Riverdeep Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing. Other sponsors include Lenovo, Imag!ne Telecommunications and Lero, the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre.
About the Imagine Cup
The competition, which is open to all third level colleges and universities, consists of nine categories spanning team-based challenges like software design and short film to individual challenges involving algorithms and game programming. Students’ work will reflect valuable, real-world solutions that address the pressing global environmental issues while giving them the opportunity to compete for generous cash prizes. http://www.imaginecup.ie
To find out more about Microsoft Ireland please visit www.microsoft.com/ireland/about.
